Progressive SMBs are defined by how they use technology to achieve business growth. From acquiring new customers to managing suppliers to exceeding sales quotas, IT helps a lot. But traditional hardware and software solutions are expensive to purchase and support.

Can you name five cybersecurity best practices? Most people can’t, and few of those who can, actually follow them. Unfortunately, cyberattacks are far too common to be lax about staying safe online. Your identity could be stolen, or even worse, you could expose private information belonging to your company’s clients.

Experts estimate that the global market for cybersecurity products this year will exceed that of last year. At first glance, an increase in spending seems necessary and shows that businesses are becoming more aware of cybersecurity issues. But a closer look may prove otherwise.

No company is completely safe from data breaches. For proof, look no further than companies like Yahoo, AOL, and Home Depot, which compromised millions of personal customer information. That said, no business is completely helpless, either. The following steps can minimize the risks to your business in the event of a large-scale data breach.

Yet another global malware infection has been making headlines and the story just took a turn for the worse. When the news of VPNFilter broke, experts warned that 500,000 devices were already infected, but now they believe that number is much higher.

Healthcare is the only industry where insider threats pose the greatest threat to sensitive data, with 58 percent of security incidents coming from people working within the organization itself. Here’s a look at five ways to prevent such breaches.

#1 Educate - The workforce (meaning all healthcare employees) must be educated on allowable uses and disclosures of protected health information (PHI) and the risk associated with certain behaviors, patient privacy, and data security.

From CryptoLocker to WannaCry, ransomware has grown in sophistication and scope over the past few years. And given its widespread success with hackers, more ransomware attacks will likely be developed further into 2018. In anticipation of these attacks, many experts are saying that virtualized disaster recovery solutions may be the best way to defend against future ransomware.

If you’re disturbed by advertisements and “helpful” suggestions that are based on your internet browsing habits, recent research has found yet another source of online tracking. It’s a sneaky tactic that also comes with serious security concerns.

“Fad” is a dirty word for many small-business owners. Whether it’s what they’re selling or what they’re investing in, business owners need long-term and reliable investments to secure their future. With 2017 in the rearview mirror, we finally know what was a fad and what was a smart investment.

With stories of large-scale data breaches and internet service providers tracking internet habits, online privacy is becoming a rare commodity. Incognito mode and private browsing features may be able to cover up your browsing history, but they don’t completely protect your online activities.